The Truth About Stress by Angela Patmore

Author:Angela Patmore
Format: epub
Publisher: Perseus Books, LLC

2.

Inurement (realistic exposure) training

3.

Stress ideology briefing

4.

Moral and professional support

5.

Respect for the right to privacy of feelings and opinions

6.

Mixed deployment (seasoned officers with new recruits)

7.

Praise and honour for courage and self-management

8.

Normalizing activities (competitive, cultural and social)

9.

Delegation of paperwork to support staff

10.

Help on request with specific grievances and problems.

Using this simple plan would alert officers to the harm of a ‘stress’ mentality, raise their expectations of emotional robustness and reduce the need for stress management interventions. It would prevent what might be referred to as ‘institutionalized stress phobia’ within the Force. The ‘stress’ culture has led in recent years to dozens of officers suing for compensation under the impression that disturbing emotions felt in the line of duty should result in a lump sum from the taxpayer’s pocket. The bottom line must be that police work, like armed combat, is extremely tough. Its thrills, its comradeship and its public esteem have always been what they are, because it is tough. Those who feel they cannot face the experience should either not join up, or leave, with dignity but without compensation, as soon as they realize they have made a genuine career mistake.

Stress-busting the BBC

Another emotionally challenging profession, with a lot of tight deadlines, late nights, editorial bullying and time-driven mental work, is journalism. Back in the 1980s, the mantra was: ‘Give me the deadline and I’ll write you the piece.’ It was assumed no piece could possibly be produced without a time-whip. But things have changed since then. A fifty-seven-page glossy brochure entitled Distressed? How to Avoid Problems, allegedly issued to BBC staff by their occupational health unit, told them how to control their workplace stress by dabbing their hands with lavender, taking up origami, or staring at a picture of the Alps. Whilst at the computer, the brochure advises, ‘ensure you sit on the cheeks of your bottom’ – rather than, presumably, on other cheeks, BBC equipment or personnel.

Shadow Culture Secretary Peter Ainsworth commented: ‘Most people at the BBC might find this funny if it weren’t so expensive. I’m not sure that this is the sort of thing the licence fee is supposed to fund.’52 A Corporation spokesman hit back: ‘If employees recognize stress is making people less productive, it is sensible and responsible to offer sound advice on ways to combat it.’ BBC occupational health expert Dr Rob Morrison told me: ‘We already have good mechanisms for helping people who are distressed. Contrary to your assertion that the current ideology is failing those who come to OH for help, I am confident that I can show effective assistance and appropriate preventive strategies for the future are being provided. I hope you are not being led to confuse the professional work of the department with the way in which “stress” may be presented by programmes, or in the press, over which we really have no control whatever.’53 Mr Ainsworth’s comment ‘is quite inappropriate if it is true, and would seem to indicate a poor understanding of the obligations imposed upon employers.’54

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